Why Elite Strikers Lose in MMA

Learn from Legends: http://www.legendarystriking.com This is an excellent video from Jeff Chan of MMA Shredded on why MMA striking is so different. There have been many "surprises" when elite strikers compete in MMA. That is, sometimes the best kickboxers get out struck by MMA fighters or even knocked out! Big names include Alistair Overeem, Cro Cop, and Gokhan Saki just to name a few. If you've been following my channel closely, I predicted Israel Adesanya to be the next superstar in MMA early on. There's are very strong reasons for naming him instead of Gokhan Saki. Israel Adesanya is a vision based striker who relies on active movement, where as Gokhan Saki is relies much more on traditional hands up defence. While that style is great in kickboxing, it doesn't work so well in MMA. In fact, putting your hands up and standing tall to shell can be a detriment in MMA. Not only does it provide inadequate defence due to the small glove size, it also opens up easy take down opportunities. With MMA gloves, defence completely changes. With takedowns, the stances also change. The striking distance between fighters in MMA becomes much longer as well. All of this favors a striker who does not rely on having the hands up as defence—a long range strikers who use footwork and head movement. Do you see now why Israel Adesanya excelled? With these details in mind, some other fighters that would excel are Saenchai or Nong-O. If you want to study MMA striking in more detail and understand how to strike in MMA, you must watch this video.